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And for every Indy there is a St. Louis, Detroit, and Buffalo, cities that have stagnated or declined despite spending millions on sports teams.

True, though the sports area of Detroit is relatively close to being its only inhabitable area. The teams are all being brought to the same section of town, and the entertainment industry is being built around it. Get outside of there though, to the areas where I grew up, and it's...not so good.

The thriving portion of Detroit is essentially "sports teams, casinos, and the bars that love them."

Indianapolis has a structural advantage enjoyed by several other cities that have flourished in the past few decades, and either ridden out recessions or grown remarkably: it's a state capital.

One shouldn't make absolute generalizations, but Sacramento, Columbus, Austin, and Nashville have had analogous success stories in the past 30 years or so. (And they've attracted or kept some sports franchises, but that might well be a somewhat incidental thing.) A city doesn't have to be a capital to enjoy such success; Pittsburgh is another example. Nor do all capitals grow like that; some are tiny and insignificant economically for any number of reasons. But it really helps to have a huge employer that you know for sure isn't going to relocate to Kuala Lumpur.

TFA is quite the blowjob. I've lived in Indy (suburb) for about 5 years now, there is noticeably more cooperation and partnership (even if it is lip service to some) between public/private sectors as well as city and suburbs than in other metro areas that I have either lived in or am familiar.

TFA doesn't really allude directly towards another important part of the history which was 'Unigov' in 1970, which basically cosolidated the government services across Marion County in 1970. In other words, all the townships and inner burbs, are now part of one Unigovernment (with some minor exceptions). Depending on which way the current winds are blowing, some will say this favored (Rs) some say (Ds) I think it is obvious (to this outsider) that it has created a more productive environment for governance.

Ironically, at a time period where the city's most famous asset, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has seen its lowest national appeal* (1995-you can argue when it bottomed out 2005, or even later), the city has enjoyed this uptick/rennaissance downtown.

*Locally, the Indy 500 is still a huge deal during the month of May, but even locally the days of 90,000+ people showing up for Pole and Bump Day are long gone.

None of these comments discount some of the legit points raised by KT, though my tax bill (income tax and property tax bill) are significantly less living here, than my previous home market of similar size (Milwaukee). The whole stadium authority (known as CIB) had its very own predictable 'budget shortfalls' though nothing approaching the financing mess in Cincinnati for PB Stadium and GAB. Lucas Oil Stadium is financed primarily by a 1% sales tax boost in Marion and surrounding counties, with increased fees on the usual (hotel, rental cars, etc.). Separately and by any objective measure, the city's public transit system is very weak, which isn't surprising to me, given how inexpensive land and real estate are around here.

From what I recall, they get an inordinate amount of conventions for a city their size.

Indianapolis has a structural advantage enjoyed by several other cities that have flourished in the past few decades, and either ridden out recessions or grown remarkably: it's a state capital.

This is huge. Denver and Minneapolis have thrived in part because they are the only major city in the state and are the capital (or are right next to the capital). Meanwhile, in MO, Kansas City and St. Louis have to vie for importance and funds, and in PA, Philly and Pittsburgh fight, etc.

I snickered at this too. As far as topography and natural beauty, there's very little to see here. Dining? It's ok, the usual high end chains are all downtown, though strangely, the best restaurants in the city are not 'downtown' IMO.

As far as I can tell the city's draw (excluding the obvious 500) is pulling in a lot of big sports related events (amateur, club, high school). There are all kinds of big gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, hoops, hockey, etc. tournaments pretty much year round, that tend to pull in lot of teams from the surrounding 3-400 mile radius. That includes (Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cincy, Columbus, St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Cleveland. They aren't tourists in a 'let's go see the speedway museum, or Children's Museum (which is outstanding by the way)) but they show up for 3-4 days and do the usual spending. It's a revolving door of this. Not to suggest other cities don't try to support the same idea, Indy just does it quite well, and it helps to have such a walkable, concentrated downtown district as evidenced by the rave reviews they received during the Super Bowl.

Sacramento, Columbus, Austin, and Nashville have had analogous success stories in the past 30 years or so.

Not insignificant: Columbus and Austin also have absolutely massive universities, which both employ thousands of people and churn out oodles of extremely talented and qualified potential employees.

Obviously Sacramento (Sac State) and Nashville (Vandy, Tennessee State) have important universities as well, but the main campuses of OSU and UT are both in the top five largest campuses in the country. That's a huge boost to their local economies.

Ironically, at a time period where the city's most famous asset, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has seen its lowest national appeal* (1995-you can argue when it bottomed out 2005, or even later), the city has enjoyed this uptick/rennaissance downtown.

*Locally, the Indy 500 is still a huge deal during the month of May, but even locally the days of 90,000+ people showing up for Pole and Bump Day are long gone.

While that's all true (f*ck Tony George), it's worth pointing out that IMS diversified. The Brickyard 400 was huge in its early days, it hosted the Formula 1 US Grand Prix for several years and now hosts the MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix.

So while the month of May isn't the holy, sacred Month of May anymore, IMS brings its benefits across more of the year.

As far as I can tell the city's draw (excluding the obvious 500) is pulling in a lot of big sports related events (amateur, club, high school). There are all kinds of big gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, hoops, hockey, etc. tournaments pretty much year round, that tend to pull in lot of teams from the surrounding 3-400 mile radius. That includes (Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cincy, Columbus, St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Cleveland. They aren't tourists in a 'let's go see the speedway museum, or Children's Museum (which is outstanding by the way)) but they show up for 3-4 days and do the usual spending. It's a revolving door of this. Not to suggest other cities don't try to support the same idea, Indy just does it quite well, and it helps to have such a walkable, concentrated downtown district as evidenced by the rave reviews they received during the Super Bowl.

Also the NCAA offices are headquartered in Indy. They get a lot of college related events including basketball Final Fours and many Big Ten-related championships. Even remember a fair share of swimming/diving championships that occur in the city. Once you have the sports venues in place and the NCAA in the same city it becomes easier to outbid the other possible sites.